West Struggles as Russia Moves to Dominate Old USSR

I found an interesting article online today that talks about Russia massing troops on the Ukrainian border, and thought it was an interesting read. 

According to NATO, tens of thousands of Russian troops are prepared for a potential invasion of Ukraine, but Western states lack a strategy to prevent the invasion other than using tactics such as sanctions and isolation to put pressure on Moscow. 

Some think that increased pressure may push Putin towards a more conciliatory approach, while others worry that Russia may become more nationalist and self-sufficient, and give Putin more incentive to take a more aggressive, populist approach. 

Experts say that Moscow has been building its influence in security forces, politicians, and government officials in neighboring countries, allowing instability to ramp up and create confusion before the potential invasion.

In a speech made in March, Putin clearly stated that he would be willing to use force in order to safeguard the interests of Russian speaking minorities

There is little political will to stop Russia from going further if it is truly determined to do so. Some say the only catch is that attacking the NATO member Baltic states would trigger NATO's self defense clause and would result in a wider war with the alliance and the United States.

"We are in new territory," one Western official commented. "Realistically there is little the West can do to prevent Putin invading Ukraine or other non-NATO former Soviet states except for applying diplomatic and economic pressure. The priority now is to deter any aggression against NATO."

A move into eastern Ukraine made by the Russians would most likely spark (hopefully limited) military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. How the West would react is far from clear.

In the US, there is little real enthusiasm for direct involvement, much less a nuclear face-off with Moscow.

NATO announced what it called "concrete measures" on April 1, which would serve to boost Ukraine's ability to defend itself. These measures, however, appeared limited to ill-defined "capacity building" measures and boosting the size of NATO's liaison office in the capital.

"It's not that the West couldn't stop it - a couple of brigades of NATO troops would almost certainly deter an invasion," Dmitri Gorenburg, Russia analyst at the Centre for Naval Analyses, (a U.S. government-funded body that advises the military) reveals. "But that isn't going to happen. When it comes to pushing back Russia's actions in the former Soviet Union, there is no strategy and there is no appetite."

See full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/11/us-ukraine-crisis-strategy-analysis-idUSBREA3A0G620140411

Forrest Gump, He Was There!

The movie Forrest Gump is by no means a documentary, but it is quite amusing to see the main protagonist Forrest buddy up with some well-known figures in American history and also be present for a few milestone events. Here are some of those people and events:

Elvis Presley
Forrest's mother rents rooms out to borders, and one of those borders happens to be the King himself before he became a superstar. Forrest actually teaches him those hip-swinging moves (Forrest wears heavy leg braces, so its much easier for him to swing his hips then move his feet).

George Wallace's Stand at the Schoolhouse Door
After winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Alabama, Forrest finds himself an observer to governor George Wallace's speech against the desegregation of the school. Federal troops forced Wallace aside, but as the two black students enter the building, the women drops her book. Naturally, Forrest picks up her book and returns it to her.

John F. Kennedy
Forrest meets Kennedy in the White House in an event celebrating the All-American football team. Upon reflection, Forrest acts genuinely distraught with the assassination "of that nice young president."

Vietnam War
Forrest volunteers to fight in Vietnam, and finds that he is well-suited for such a lifestyle. His low IQ and cordial personality make him a good soldier as he very willingly listens to commands. He spends much of his time in the swamps and the wretchedness of the situation is very much stressed in the movie.

Lyndon B. Johnson
After his stint in Vietnam, Forrest is rewarded the Medal of Honor by President Johnson (He single-handedly saved several members of his platoon after a surprise attack by the Viet Cong).

Anti-War Movement
Forrest accidentally wanders into anti-war demonstration. For some reason, he is volunteered to speak. The counterculture also is referenced here because Forrest's love interest, Jenny, was deeply ingrained in the counter culture movement and she and Forrest reunite in this scene. Her boyfriend is from Berkley, and it is also implied that he is part of the free speech movement there. Jenny also takes Forrest to a Black Panther meeting, where Forrest starts a fight with Jenny's boyfriend.

Richard Nixon (and Watergate)
Thanks to his exceptional ping pong skills, Forrest is invited to participate on the goodwill tour, an event where members of the US ping pong team went to China to play members of there team. After this, Forrest is invited to the White House by Nixon. Nixon suggests that Forrest stays in the Watergate hotel, so unknowingly, Forrest reports the Watergate scandal when he calls the hotel front desk about some suspicious behavior at the neighboring building.

This is only a snapshot of some of the events and people mentioned in Forrest Gump. Every time I watch this movie, I see more and more references I didn't notice before. This is a great movie and I encourage you all to see it!

The Artist in Him: President George Walker Bush

⚠This is a fun post for those of you who spend your time on the blog.

Have you ever wondered what presidents do after their term(s) is/are over?

Sure, they can jump right back to politics. But why not spend time and discover hidden talents?

President George W. Bush(the son) is setting a great example for the future presidents of this country.

He found another side of him after his presidency was over in 2009.

The artistic side.

President Bush set up a gallery full of portraits(drawn by him, of course) of world leaders in Texas.

Recognize this person? It sure is Vladimir Putin.

To see more, you can click on this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/04/04/want-to-see-some-of-george-w-bushs-portraits-of-world-leaders-of-course-you-do/

Enjoy!

Who won the Cold War?

President Ronald Reagan(left) and
former General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev (right)

After finishing the Cold War unit, you start to wonder if the United States did contribute to the fall of the Soviet Union and the containment of communism. It is indeed true that the Soviet Union was suffering from an internal economic crisis that stemmed from the stagnant economy and the increased expenditure on military. It seems as if the Soviet Union dug its own grave by falling into an economic trap from creating a rivalry with the United States during the Cold War. However, here are few of the reasons why I believe the Soviet Union collapsed due to the pressure from the United States.

Towards the end of the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan's contributions to containment of communism became apparent as the external factors began to cause the fall of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, even with the increased economic deficits, continued its rivalry with the United States. In 1983, President Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative which is later known as "Star Wars". The plan suggested that the United States would create a space-based machine powerful enough to destroy nuclear ballistic missiles. To retaliate this incredible but somewhat implausible task, the Soviet Union increased the budget to its military department which left the rest of the economy with a shortfall. The Soviet Union's weakened control over its satellite states due to its depressed economy allowed the borders of the Soviet satellite states to be opened, which has always been closed before to block the East Berliners from escaping.

Along with President Reagan's unintentional attempt to deplete the Soviet strength in the Iron Curtain, he threatened Mikhail Gorbachev with the "Tear down this wall!" speech in West Berlin. Two years later, the Eastern Bloc finally broke down as the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union released control over the East Berliners. Not only did President Reagan help overcome the Berlin struggle, but he also aided the Afghans who were at that time occupied by the Soviets. Reagan's military contribution as well as the billions of dollars from the federal budget he to help the Afghans allowed the Soviets to back out of Afghanistan without a victory. It was inevitable that the Soviet Union would have another blow from its foreign loss.

Let's talk about a peaceful way the United States used to internally break the Soviet Union. By the end of the Cold War, the world already turned into a place where people could connect globally. The American rock and roll movement influenced the American children but it also influenced the children of the Soviet Union. While the older generation of the Soviet Union wanted to transcend communistic ways to the next generation, the younger generation was amidst the cultural assimilation. As the view points of the people changed in the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union had a dramatic yet transition from Soviet Union to the country of Russia.

Justice Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill Controversy and How Anita Hill Changed the World

In the President George H. W. Bush documentary we watched today, it briefly talked about the sexual harassment charge made by Professor Anita Hill at the University of Oklahoma against then-jurist and a nominee for Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas. 

Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed by Present Bush due to Justice Thurgood Marshall's retirement. President Bush stated that he did not appoint an African-American judge to be seated in Supreme Court to replace the first African-American judge, but instead, due to Clarence Thomas' qualifications. However, the addition of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court would bring somewhat equality within the Court, although it is clear that white judges would dominate. As the Supreme Court started to veer towards the conservative side during President Bush's presidency, it was only natural that a conservative judge would be picked. 

While many would think that President Bush's choice would be encouraged, majority of African-American organizations protested the nomination of Clarence Thomas. They assumed that if Clarence Thomas is placed in the Court, he would undo the implementations made by Judge Thurgood Marshall, a liberal, for the good of Civil Rights. Since the 1980's to 1990's periods had issues regarding the legality of abortion, pro-women and pro-choice groups also feared that the addition of a conservative would go against the rulings previously made. However, the processions made by the Senate Judiciary Committee went smoothly due to Clarence Thomas' non-declarative position against controversial topics.

Along with the nomination of Clarence Thomas moving to the Senate floor came a testimony made by Anita Hill on October 11th, 1991. Professor Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her years before when she worked as his assistant at Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Some of the reasons for making this sexual harassment charge was caused by reference to pornographic materials and incessant offers to form social relationship. If you would like to read more about Anita Hill's testimony, go to this link (http://mith.umd.edu//WomensStudies/GenderIssues/SexualHarassment/hill-thomas-testimony)

Naturally, Clarence Thomas denied the claim made by Anita Hill. He pronounced the fact that Anita Hill remained his assistant even at his second work and kept contacts with him even after quitting the job as his assistant. Regarding this, Anita Hill stated that it was difficult to transfer or change the work field during the period in which she was working under Thomas. Later, four female witnesses stepped up to support Anita Hill's claim but they were not considered credible.

Some of the accusations Justice Clarence Thomas made on Anita Hill was that she was being delusional, seeking revenge, and acting like a woman. Overall, this sparked the feminist issues and issues of sexual controversy. Before this nation-wide case was presented to the public, most people were unaware of the extent of the seriousness or sexual harassment. Nonetheless, as we all know, Clarence Thomas was implemented as the Supreme Court Justice. However, the Anita Hill Controversy increased the feminist movement and women started to participate even more in politics. Although we may not know the truth behind the Anita Hill Controversy besides those involved, we do know her legacy lives on.

This is Anita Hill's interview
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/anita-hill-her-regrets
and apparently, the Anita Hill Controversy turned into film.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/22/anita-hill-spotlight-anew-film-anita-opens_n_5012568.html

American History and How it is Taught

Recently, a friend of mine passed along a book called Lies My Teacher Told Me. I haven't had a chance to read the whole book yet, but it was on a topic that is very applicable to us AP history students: how history is taught at schools.

Here is an excerpt from the book:
Between the glossy covers, American history textbooks are full of information—overly full. These books are huge. The specimens in my original collection of a dozen of the most popular textbooks averaged four and a half pounds in weight and 888 pages in length. To my astonishment, during the last twelve years they grew even larger. In 2006 I surveyed six new books. (Owing to publisher consolidation, there no longer are twelve.) Three are new editions of “legacy textbooks,” descended from books originally published half a century ago; three are “new new” books. These six new books average 1,150 pages and almost six pounds!

The book is especially critical of history textbooks, and you'll never guess what book was explicitly mentioned! Oh American Pageant, as much as I love your 1043 pages of information, I can see why there are those who are critical of your text. There are so many facts, dates, people, events, that I can hardly keep it all straight. When I read the textbook, I take notes because honestly I don't think that I would hold on to any information otherwise. The amount of material is so dense, and it can be really difficult to wrap your head around it all to understand general themes.

This in itself creates a problem. History is about learning from the past and applying it to our problems today and our problems in the future. When there is so much information and it is presented in such a monotone and uninteresting way, it can be hard to retain it. In our class this year, its been very helpful that we have class lectures and watch documentaries which we discuss in class. However, I think it is reasonable to say that most of us have been part of history classes that make us feel completely disconnected from the past so we are only memorizing instead of learning.

I'm curious to see what other people think. How would you compare your history classes (in general) to that of your math or science? How could learning history become more engaging?

Brief Bullet Point Summaries of Chapters 39-44

I've created bullet point summaries of what I thought were the more important points in Chapters 39-44. Please let me know if I've missed anything. Thanks!

Chapter 39.  The Cold War Begins (1945-1952)

1. The production boom of WWII jolted America out of the Great Depression. America enjoyed an economic dominance for three decades following WWII as the other countries were recovering.
2. The policy of “containment”, or not letting communism spread, was the basis of the “Truman doctrine” which drove foreign policy until communism fell in 1989.
3. The U.S. gave billions to rebuild western Europe using the Marshall Plan.
4. When North Korea invaded South Korea, the policy of containment was challenged and the US entered the Korean War to uphold the “Truman Doctrine”.

Chapter 40.  The Eisenhower Era (1952-1960)

1. American enjoyed its new prosperity and bought up loads of consumer items to go along with new homes.
2. The “baby boom” began.
3. “McCarthyism” boosted America’s fears of communism.
4. Black—white segregation in the South became stricter. However, the foundation of the civil rights movement was laid with events such as the Brown v. Board of Education case and Montgomery bus boycott.
5. The Cold War dominated culture. Incidents between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., such as America’s U-2 spy plane being shot down, added to the tension. Plus, a new “arms race” of nuclear weapons, and a “space race” to develop satellites and rockets began.

Chapter 41. The Stormy Sixties (1960-1968)

1. John Kennedy struggled over foreign policy with his failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba but redeemed himself by standing up to the U.S.S.R. in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
2. JFK also sent U.S. “advisors” to South Vietnam. The goal was to prevent communist North Vietnam from taking over non-communist South Vietnam.  
3. The Civil Rights Movement gained steam and reached full boil with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act were large steps forward toward ending discrimination.
4. Lyndon Baines Johnson fought two “wars”.  In the US, he started the “Great Society” in attempt to make America the place everyone had dreamt it would be.  He also significantly escalated the U.S. presence in Vietnam after the Tonkin Gulf Incident.
5. Culturally, young people rebelled against the conformity of the 50s. In the 60s, the norm for many became to not follow the norm. This was seen mostly in the hippies, in music, in drug use, and in the idea of “questioning authority.”

Chapter 42.  The Stalemated Seventies (1968-1980)

1. The economy began to slow because of increased oil prices and resulting inflation. During the seventies, gas prices tripled and inflation reached double digits by 1980.
2. Nixon was brought down by the Watergate Scandal. The scandal involved a break-in and mic bugging at the Democratic headquarters. Nixon got into trouble for “obstructing justice” and telling people to keep quiet about it.
3. Jimmy Carter was elected as a Washington outsider. He struggled as president with (a) the economy which took a nose-dive and (b) foreign affairs as he was unable to deal with U.S. hostages taken in Iran.
4. Though times were certainly not bad, mixed with the Watergate scandal, it was a decade without tremendous progress.

Chapter 43.  The Resurgence of Conservation (1980-1996)

1. Conservatism emerged through Reagan who supported tax cuts, “supply-side” economics that helped businesses, and a strengthening of the military. The national debt increased dramatically, largely due to increased military spending.
2. Reagan took a strong stance against communism, calling the U.S.S.R. the “evil empire.”
3. When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union, tensions began to soften. Gorbachev’s actions within the U.S.S.R. would eventually lead to communism’s fall in 1989.
4. In 1991, Iraq invaded Kuwait. This started an international effort to oust Iraq, led by George H. W. Bush and the U.S.

Chapter 44. The American People Face a New Century

1. The high-tech sector has revolutionized the modern nation. Personal computers are the norm and the internet came in a boom (and a bust). A handful of tech firms and founders became instant billionaires.
2. The rich-poor gap widened as the wealthy got wealthier during the Reagan/Bush/Clinton years. The rich did get richer, but they had to pay an increasing percentage of the total taxes.
3. Women broke into many places formerly reserved for men. This was true for both jobs, but also for colleges such as Ivy League schools and military schools.
4. Family make-up began to change dramatically as divorce increased sharply. Births to unmarried women also increased dramatically.